Chapter 68 Rescue and the Truth
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" The river rolls forward, carrying mud and sand from the mountains and fallen leaves from the banks, drifting into the distance.
Not far from the abandoned factory, on the riverbank, the tall, thin man and the scarred man were taking a break and fishing.
This "auspicious spot" was extremely secluded, surrounded by woods, and the two often relieved their cravings for cigarettes here.
The scarred man squatted on the ground and casually threw the burnt-out cigarette butt under the tree. There was a pit under the tree, filled with non-biodegradable cigarette butts.
"Kawada, don't you find it strange? Almost all the people we brought are locked up in the warehouse, but this kid is separated from us."
"Don't speculate too much about your sister-in-law's affairs, or you'll regret it," said the tall, thin man leaning against the tree, flicking the ash from his cigarette.
"Hey, do you know something?"
No! No!
"Bullshit! We've known each other for so long, I know exactly what you're thinking." The scarred man stood up abruptly and shouted, "I saw it! I saw your expression when you opened the factory door and saw what was inside."
"Tell me, what did you see? If you don't tell me, I'll use my fists." The scarred man rubbed his wrist, as if preparing to strike.
"Tsk, curiosity killed the cat." The tall, thin man approached the man with the large scar. "Don't blame me for not warning you."
He glanced around furtively, then whispered, "I saw..."
"What!" The scarred man's eyes widened in astonishment as he listened to the tall, thin man's description. "This pretty boy is also my sister-in-law's lover..."
"Keep your voice down."
"Does my brother know about this?"
“Of course you don’t know, so don’t tell anyone.” The tall, thin man patted the scarred man on the shoulder and said earnestly, “These kinds of things are common among the high-ranking bosses, like the organization next door…”
While they were gossiping enthusiastically, a loud splash came from the direction of the abandoned factory.
"What's that sound?" The tall, thin man immediately became alert, snapping out of his slacking-off state.
"Oh no, we need to go back and check."
The two hurriedly set off back to the abandoned factory, but it was too late; the place was already deserted.
Looking at the broken bottles, the snapped rope, and the shattered windows scattered on the ground, the scarred man's eyes widened in fury, his vicious face looking as if he could devour a hundred children.
"Baka—how dare you—"
"Search along the river; he can't have gone far!"
"Phew—spit, spit, spit—" Gu Ze, who had finally reached the shore, lay on the bank spitting out water.
His body was still too weak, and because of his injury, he was almost swept away by the water.
The cool evening breeze blew, causing the weeds on the bank to sway and fall, and when it blew on Gu Ze, who was soaked to the bone, his body trembled involuntarily.
"Ouch, it's a bit cold. I hope I don't catch a cold." Gu Ze rubbed his arms and saw a dragonfly flutter its wings and land on his head.
Gu Ze waved his hand to shoo the dragonfly away. Just as he was about to get up, he heard a commotion coming from not far away.
"There aren't any here!"
"Let's go take a look over there."
It was the voices of those two men! Gu Ze quickly lay down on the spot and covered his body with the lush weeds around him.
The sound gradually drew closer and soon reached Gu Ze's location.
"Damn it, where did they go?!"
Gu Ze held his breath, trying to blend himself into nature.
However, fate always seems to play tricks on people. The dragonfly that had been chased away earlier flew back to Gu Ze's front and, by sheer coincidence, landed on his nose.
Gu Ze suddenly felt an itch in his nose.
pill!
"Achoo!"
"Aha, here it is!"
The gleaming dagger swept across the grass above Gu Ze's head, instantly slicing off a patch of green plants.
Gu Ze reacted just as quickly, rolling to the side before bracing himself with his hands and standing up in a defensive stance.
"Just surrender. In your current state, you can't possibly beat the two of us."
"Oh," Gu Ze replied casually, chuckling indifferently.
"Indeed, I can't beat you right now, but don't you know that?"
"The villains are all saved for the protagonist to fight!"
Now!
"Brother Gu Ze—" Behind Gu Ze, Conan Edogawa shouted, and a soccer ball, like a bubble, was blown up from his waist, grew bigger, and fell.
Just as the ball hit the ground, he took a step back and kicked it while yelling, "Duck!"
"Bang—"
The sun was a deep orange-red in the western sky, and the man lying on the ground rolled his eyes upwards, his face violently kissed by a football.
The episode ends with the background music of victory being announced (not really).
Metropolitan Police Department, in a reception room.
"Achoo! Achoo!" Gu Ze, wrapped in a blanket, covered his mouth and sneezed several times.
He had already taken off his soaking wet clothes, changed into dry ones, and his wounds had been treated.
"I think I should take some cold medicine as a precaution. I happen to have some with me." Professor Agasa waved the medicine box in his hand.
"No need, thank you, Professor Agasa. I'll be fine in a bit." Gu Ze refused outright, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table to wipe his nose.
"Xiao Ze, you should take one!" Dr. Agasa took a pill out of the medicine box and handed it to Gu Ze.
"No, I'm fine, perfectly healthy," Gu Ze said, sniffling.
"Hey, you've got a runny nose, stop being so stubborn." Conan Edogawa thought to himself with his half-moon eyes.
"Hot water." Matsuda Jinpei walked in from outside, carrying a kettle of hot water, pouring it into a disposable cup, and pushing it in front of Gu Ze.
Looking at the steaming water glass on the table, Gu Ze smacked his lips. "I want to drink peach-flavored soda."
"Don't even think about it. Drink more hot water, that'll help you recover faster," Matsuda Jinpei said firmly, plopping down opposite Gu Ze.
"You still need to take your medicine! Be good, or I'll beat you up!"
"Oh, oh~" Gu Ze groaned weakly, picked up the water glass with his hand, and obediently took his medicine.
The bandages covering Matsuda Jinpei's fair hands stung his eyes, making him want to beat the two prisoners to a pulp.
"When will my pork chop rice arrive? I'm starving to the point of numbness." Gu Zesheng slumped helplessly on the sofa.
"I just called and urged the second-year graduate students, so don't be impatient," Matsuda Jinpei said speechlessly.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Kenji Hagiwara pushed open the door and entered, carrying a large bag of rice balls.
"Ah! It's rice balls!" Gu Ze, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed what was in the bag.
"These are the only rice balls left at the convenience stores recently, so make do with these." Kenji Hagiwara placed the bag on the table and handed a rice ball to Conan Edogawa, Professor Agasa, and Gu Ze.
How delicious can leftover rice balls from a convenience store be?
Gu Ze felt like he was the unluckiest person in the world, tears streaming down his face.
Overwhelmed by grief, he muttered as he took a bite of rice ball, "I want to drink peach-flavored soda, I want to eat pork chop rice."
"I want to drink peach-flavored soda, and I want to eat pork chop rice."
"I want to eat pork chop rice, and I want to drink peach-flavored soda."
"..."
"Baka! Stop nagging me. Next time I'll treat you to pork cutlet rice, as much as you want, and I'll buy you a case of peach-flavored soda, okay?" Matsuda Jinpei was thoroughly annoyed by the nagging.
[Ding! Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji, and Kudo Shinichi have all noticed your annoying, childish side, and their approval ratings have each increased by 5.]
Seeing that the others finally reacted, Gu Ze smiled and agreed, "It's a deal!"
Fortunately, Kenji Hagiwara bought enough rice balls, allowing Gu Ze, who had been starving all day, to eat six rice balls in one go.
Gu Ze was delighted to have achieved the accomplishment of "Look how hungry the child is," and his approval score increased by two points.
"Officer Takagi is interrogating the criminals they caught with Inspector Megure. Matsuda Jinpei and I are in charge of you..." Hagiwara Kenji said with a grin as he watched Gu Ze elegantly wiping his mouth.
"You can tell me now, Gu Ze, the whole story."
"Understood, I will definitely tell you everything this time," Gu Ze assured him.
Seeing that Gu Ze was about to reveal the truth, Conan Edogawa moved closer to him.
“Three days ago, I received a commission. Dr. Jiro Mizushima of XX Private Hospital suspected that his wife, Koori Kuraki, had stolen confidential documents from the clinic.”
"Confidential documents?" Conan Edogawa asked in confusion.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? I find it strange too, but this is the task that Mizushima Jiro asked me to investigate. He didn’t tell me what this so-called classified document is.”
"But as a detective, it is my duty to find the truth, and then I found some clues."
Gu Ze turned to look at Conan Edogawa, who was deep in thought, as if asking him, "This private hospital is quite famous in Beika. In your opinion, what kind of documents are the most important in a hospital like this?"
Upon hearing Gu Ze's question, the group fell into deep thought.
“That is…” Conan was the first to realize.
"Information!" they all exclaimed in unison.
"Yes, it's information! Any information about people who have been treated in the hospital, including their height, weight, blood type, organ health status..."
"We could check if any of the recently missing people from Beika Town have visited this private hospital in recent years..."
Gu Ze remained silent, and everyone present understood his meaning.
Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda, the police officers, wore grim expressions. They knew that this case was going to become very difficult.
How did a well-known private hospital become a marketplace for organ trafficking? Who supported it? And who made deals with it?
“We will report what you’ve said,” Kenji Hagiwara sighed.
"Hehe, that's all I know. Once those two prisoners confess, there will definitely be more clues." Gu Ze dropped his serious expression and resumed his usual demeanor.
"Matsuda, don't forget the pork cutlet rice and soda you promised me!"
"You bastard, all you ever do is eat! You almost died!" Matsuda Jinpei's fist hardened.
[Ding! Shinichi Kudo, Kenji Hagiwara, and Jinpei Matsuda have suddenly noticed your foodie nature, young man! You simply can't resist the temptation of delicious food!]
[Approval value +8]
Conan Edogawa smirked as he looked at Gu Ze, who was still grinning, when suddenly a hellish thought popped into his head.
If he doesn't rescue Gu Ze today, then he will unlock a Gu Ze who is empty-bellied, just skin and bones.
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